Bird rallies for win

SLIDESHOW: Thomas Dale vs. LC Bird

This Battle of Chester was a feast for the senses.

There was linebacker Andrew Faison, ignoring the hard snap count, sniffing out the runner and shutting down Thomas Dale's run game.

On the other side of the ball, it was L.C. Bird's Anthony Harris feeling around for a block, finding one, and breezing to a game-winning run for the No.3 Skyhawks, who delivered a 21-14 comeback victory against the No.5 Knights to a full house of rowdy fans.

It was a game that swung back and forth in the final minutes -- first as Bird struck with a Harris touchdown pass to Nick Movales, then right back on a missed extra point that preserved Dale's lead.

But a squandered possession gave the Skyhawks another chance, one that Harris used to scramble his way to a 40-yard touchdown run after breaking free on a J.J. Jones block.

"I felt him coming my way," Jones said. "I was just trying to stick with my block long enough to help."

The hard-luck Knights saw the game go downhill late for the second consecutive week, and despite a late rally from quarterback Demitrius Campbell, who completed his first pass with less than a minute remaining, Harris was lurking for a game-ending interception, his second pickoff of the evening.

His first kick-started Bird's rally coming out of halftime. The Skyhawks had just nine minutes of possession in the first half, so after a 36-minute halftime extravaganza, it felt like a whole new game for the unit.

Perhaps most interestingly, the game swung on a penalty call -- and it had nothing to do with the Skyhawks, who played a game free of any holding violations for the first time under coach Dave Bedwell.

On its second touchdown drive, Bird couldn't convert on a third-and-26, but a personal foul after the play extended the drive and led to Harris' touchdown strike. The quarterback tried to stay cool under the pressure.

"We practice the two-minute drill, but it's nothing like that once you get out there," he said. "I was just trying to stay calm and focused."

He did that, and got a big assist from the offensive line, which turned the tables on running game. The Knights ran at will in the first half, picking up 3 yards and a cloud of mud on a watered-down field. They finished the first quarter with 75 yards, but finished the game with just 102, going nearly three quarters without a first down.

Thomas Dale falls to 1-2, with a pair of tough losses to top-five teams. L.C. Bird is 3-0 with its sights on the Dominion District.

It'll be tough to top last night's victory, which culminated in late-game heroics from Harris.

He was directly responsible for all three touchdowns, with a run and pass, and a 60-yard interception return to the 1 setting up the other. Looking over the stat sheet, his coach was impressed.

"I'm sure glad No.7 plays for our team," Bedwell said.

Thomas Dale's Greg Evans and Ben Saunders each had 14 tackles. Mike Edmonds had a sack and six tackles.

Thomas Dale ------------------------- 14 0 0 0 -- 14
L.C. Bird ------------------------- 0 0 7 14 -- 21

TD --Edmunds 1 run (Prevost kick)

TD -- Green 9 run (Prevost kick)

LCB -- Williams 1 run (Keck kick)

LCB -- Lee 12 pass from Harris (kick failed)

LCB -- Harris 40 run (Clarke pass from Harris)
RUSHING

Thomas Dale -- Green 7-48, Edmunds 10-28, King 9-26, Campbell 4-21. L.C. Bird -- Williams 17-70, Harris 8-23, Hall 8-23
RECEIVING

Thomas Dale -- Dudley 1-14, Lauretano 1-16. LCB Lee 3-28, Williams 1-7, Jones 1-5
PASSING

Thomas Dale -- Campbell 2-6-30. L.C. Bird -- Harris 5-10-40